Not so random thoughts for September 5, 2021 – It’s all about Ida

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After Ida. You can see the road signs. There is a bridge after the yellow one. It was covered in water. There is a house that belongs to the mailboxes. It’s set back quite a bit. The water went right up to it. The basement was flooded but it didn’t go on the first floor. The family had just finished repairs from a storm two years ago that flooded the whole house.

Ida came through this week. We weren’t paying attention as most of the time, storms miss us. We live at the base of a mountain range that wreaks havoc with forecasting. Storms either go north or south of us. Mostly. Not Ida although she did pack a stronger punch with tornadoes about an hour south of us. We got mostly rain. Lots and lots of rain. Somewhere between six and eight inches (depending on the weather forecaster) in a short time.

Back to normal a few days later. Except for a tinge of mud and some flattened growth, it looks as it did.

Rain is amazing. You never take it too seriously and then bam! You see how much power it really has. Roads were flooded and cars were washed away. Lives were lost because we didn’t take this seriously. Of course we could make a quick trip to the store. Well, maybe not.

This is the path to my beloved stream. Gone. The little stream looks like a lake.

This is the path normally. You can’t even see the stream which is beyond the tree line.

We were lucky. On a personal basis we had no damage. No water in the basement. No roof taken off. No tree blown over. The worst thing was that our roads were so flooded we couldn’t get out for 36 hours. That meant no Starbucks for me. Doesn’t seem right to even mention it in the same post where people lost their life.

I always worry about the animals. They have an extra sense that we don’t share (yes they are smarter than us) so I was hoping they could “feel” it coming. We have two does and three fawn that frequent our neighborhood. I saw one mama and her two babies afterward so hopefully they are all ok.

Here are my friends noshing in the retention pond after the water when down. This was also filled with water. 

As I went to my favorite spots to take pictures I saw a dead mouse (no pictures) on the gravel road to my favorite stream. Maybe a raptor lost its grip and dropped it while flying. Then I saw another and another. The field mice took a beating. They live in the high grasses in the fields around the stream. I expect the water took the weak and the old. I didn’t see anything else dead.

The stream was different. There were trees down and piles of branches that got caught on the bridge. The taller bushes and grasses were flattened. That was Thursday. By Friday morning a lot of the grass has recovered. It was just another storm.

We didn’t get anywhere near the damage that the southern states did but we saw the power of water. It’s stronger than it looks as it comes out of the tap.

 

73 thoughts on “Not so random thoughts for September 5, 2021 – It’s all about Ida”

  1. Pingback: Random 5 for September 12, 2021 – Recovery, weather, people, pets, stamina | Views and Mews by Coffee Kat

  4. Wow, Kate. Those were very powerful images you took of the road – before and after! I can’t imagine how frightening, and then devastating, it would be to see the flood waters ‘take’ your home. I’m so relieved to hear that the worst you endured was Starbuck withdrawal … still bad, but so much better than the other scenario.

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  5. It is so good to hear that you didn’t have any damage to your home. I was quite sure you’d been in the path of the storm, at least strong enough to have a lot of rain, but I hoped no flooding! It must really be a frightening experience to have rain that hard. Like you not wanting to complain about Starbucks, I find it hard to complain about our drought. Too much or not enough! We sure need to hold on to our ability to adapt.

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  6. I’m glad that you guys didn’t suffer from any damage, though your pictures do show that the amount of rain was indeed heavy. Normally when those storms come ashore they weaken, but Ida sure didn’t. This specific storm showed what warming is doing to the environment.

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  11. Thanks for the description and the before and after photos. The videos of water rushing into the subway and into the basement apts. in NYC seemed the most frightening to me. It’s not surprising that this unusual storm took a lot of people in the NE by surprise. I hope the country and the world will take Climate Change more seriously. I worry about our children and grandchildren.

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    • I’ve always been fearful of basements in any storm although I didn’t think it could be that bad. Very sad. Except for a very few, most major storms go out to see and hit the coast more than inland.

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  12. Just amazing devastation – I guess you held your breath since it was the first time in such an event in this house. Looks like you lucked out and yes, the power of water is amazing. I had a hot water tank leak one night while I was washing clothes. I went to put the next load in – what a difference from the last time downstairs. They are still counting lives lost and the billion-dollar figure for devastation is astronomical.

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  15. Gosh, those water pics are really something and makes one appreciate the power of moving water. Glad you and the kitties are all safe and dry. Meanwhile in Denver we’re kinda slow-cooking. Rain has been elusive in my neighborhood and seems to only show up in areas where it can do some real damage to the infrastructure. Times like these when I’m grateful for not having a basement and am located on higher ground. Wishing you a good (and safe) Labor Day weekend.

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  20. I’m glad you’re safe, Kate. It was so bad in Louisiana and Mississippi that we were expecting trouble, but we mostly got heavy rain and no serious flooding, with not much wind. I was sad and surprised to see the storm become so much worse as it went through the northern areas.

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  22. Amazing pictures Kate! I’ve never experienced a rain like that – 6-8 inches is a lot. I guess we are lucky here this far north that we only have to deal with too much snow…..so far, until ….the Great Lakes start to flood over from all the polar melting.

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    • Louisiana appears to have taken the big hit. Philadelphia got a lesser hit but it was amazing to see one of the main super highways look like a river. That took a few days to clear. I’m not sure what happened farther north.

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  24. Ida just never seemed to lose her punch as she traveled north did she…..we had a lot of rain and there was flooding and high winds but we live on a big hill so no floods here. The stream down in our woods was WAY out of its’ banks and running swiftly instead of lazily as usual. Glad you all made it without any damage – you’re right – people really don’t “give enough credit” to the power of water or even wind. Ida left her mark……sadly.

    Hugs, Pam

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  25. Your photos say it all. Truly astounded that Ida was able to stay that powerful. It’s very pretty there, Kate. No wonder you love walking walking your path; I would love it too. It’s going to be so pretty when Fall settles in. I hope you share photos of this area where you walk when the leaves change.

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  27. Those photos are powerful and sure tell the story ~~ living in Texas for 10 years, we witnessed the impact of water, and its terrifying. Seeing roads disappear, or a wall of water coming down and at your neighborhood, I still shudder thinking about it. Living further north now, yes we have ice and snow, but it generally doesn’t come in your house and sweep you away. Glad you are ok!

    MJ

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    • Since no one is as familiar with the area, I really needed the “normal” and “storm” shots. I was so stunned as I had never lived this close to a flooding stream before. BTW we are having a (not needed) shower right now. It was predicted to be a glorious weekend so hopefully it will clear up a little later.

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  28. Good to read that you came through Ida OK! We had our first real rainfall in around 8 weeks yesterday. It was actually glorious. I had forgotten what the air smells like when it rains. And I live in a rainforest, apparently! Good thing there is no such thing as climate change 🙄😉

    Deb

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  30. Glad you are OK. That is some depth of water.
    I remember in the drought years ago when we were in the cottage we were so pleased to have some rain when we were out walking Maggie. That was changed to shock and horror when we got home to find our drive under 6 inches of water. The threshold of our house was seven. It took a while to recede, then we made with the downpipe repairs and put a french drain round the property to take away the excess water as it had nowhere to go.
    Keep safe Kate.

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  31. A NY Times headline in my news brief this morning:

    “Hurricane Ida’s path of destruction exposed a harsh climate reality: The U.S. is not prepared for extreme weather.”

    So true. We are sitting ducks . . . no matter where we live.

    Glad you stayed high and dry, Kate.

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